After winning a dream match at the AEW Owen Hart Tournament 2023 semifinal, many thought CM Punk was the undisputed favorite in winning the cup. As the better part of the pro-wrestling universe was rooting for him to win during this week’s Collision, the finishing had something interesting in store which allowed and bright talent to capitalize via cheating.
As seen on the July 15 episode of Collision, the “Absolute” Ricky Starks has won the men’s AEW Owen Hart Tournament 2023 by defeating none other than CM Punk in the final match. The finish wasn’t a clear-cut pinfall win as Starks cheated his way. The two men kept on making pin attempts over one another before Starks finally grabbed the ropes to receive the three counts over Punk and the referee never noticed it.
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Jushin Thunder Liger presented the Men’s AEW Owen Hart Tournament 2023 trophy on Collision
Thus, Starks became the second man to win the AEW Owen Hart Tournament 2023 after Adam Cole won the inaugural tournament in 2022 by defeating Samoa Joe at Double or Nothing, last year. Soon after the win, NJPW legend and one of the former rivals of Owen Hart opponent, Justin Thunder Liger was waiting on stage to award Starks the trophy. But the top brass heel was rather happy to collect the trophy on his own.
As seen on Collision, Starks snatched the trophy without even making eye contact with Liger instead of celebrating with him. Punk, on the other hand, tried to draw attention to his opponent’s cheating. He talked to fans, and David Benoit, who was not acknowledged by the announcers. The outcome of the AEW Owen Hart Tournament 2023 wasn’t reversed, after all.
Before this match at AEW Collision, Ruby Soho was defeated by Willow Nightingale in the women’s AEW Owen Hart Tournament 2023. Thus, Soho has now lost in two consecutive finale matches at the Owen Hart Cup finale match for the second year. Last year, the loss came at the hands of Dr. Britt Baker at the Double or Nothing PPV event.
On the flip side, Nightingale continued to keep momentums on her side. Following her win, she might just get a shot at the AEW Women’s Championship. Plus, en route to this win, she also defeated ROH Women’s Champion Athena which should earn her a shot at this title, as well.
